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Credit: LucasfilmRegardless of your thoughts on Disney and its affiliation with the franchise, you can’t deny that many good things are in the works for the galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm has made several promising announcements regarding the Star Wars universe, including the long-awaited Ahsoka series and a film starring Rey from the Disney sequel trilogy. However, an even more ambitious project might have been subtly hinted.
Star Wars has proven to have plenty of stories left to tell outside the Skywalker Saga and some of the franchise’s best and brightest creators are already attached. However, there’s one adaptation fans have wanted for decades, and their wish might have just been granted.
Rise of Thrawn
Before there was The Force Awakens, Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy was the closest thing fans had to a tried-and-true sequel to the original Star Wars films. Zahn created one of the most nefarious, ingenious, and deadly villains with the creation of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the titular heir to the Empire, and he has since become a prominent fixture in the galaxy, especially in Disney’s extended universe.
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Since his premier in the novels, Thrawn has had a long and decorated career picking up where Vader and the Emperor left off. While he’s been a major antagonist in the Rebels animated series, he’s finally getting his first live-action appearance with Lars Mikkelsen reprising his role for the new Ahsoka series. However, it’s not going to end there.
An Heir to the Empire?
It was also recently announced that Dave Filoni, the mind behind many current Star Wars hits such as Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian, would finally get to sit in the directors chair for a full-length feature film. While we have more than enough reason to believe he is formulating a live-action adaptation of his animated universe, Disney might be hinting at an Heir to the Empire adaptation along with Ahsoka.
Thrawn is the key component that binds it all together, but it’s Filoni’s contributions to the galaxy that all but confirms an adaptation is underway. A report from IGN reads,
“He’s the ideal villain with which to build a movie involving Din Djarin, Ahsoka, Boba Fett and the Rangers of the New Republic. He’s the last, best hope the dying Empire has to recapture its former power and put an end to the growing New Republic. We know from the Star Wars sequels that this won’t happen, but that doesn’t mean Thrawn can’t do real damage to the galaxy before he’s brought down, just like in the original Thrawn trilogy novels…”
At this point in the game, we can only speculate, as neither Dave Filoni nor Timothy Zahn have gone public with their plans. What we CAN do is wait to see what unfurls in both The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Thrawn might very well be waiting in the wings to launch his full-fledged takeover.
Do you think we’re getting Heir to the Empire? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!